Damage from Floyd Rose sitting on Axis guitar body?

[thegregslife]

I recently played an EVH Wolfgang and Peavey Wolfgang (great guitars). Both had a cavity for the Floyd Rose to rest. It made me realize the pressure my Axis is taking from the Floyd sitting on the body. Are the Wolfies just being unnecessarily protective, or is this neglectful on Ernie Ball's part? I'd imagine there's a good reason the Wolfies have the cavity, otherwise they wouldn't go through the trouble of making the cavity (which would save money and time). Is this going to be a problem for my Axis over time? What do you guys think?

 

[racerx]

Just a design preference so the trem is configured for "dive" only. Helps a bit with tuning stability and setup convenience. My Floyd Axis is ~10 years old and has no noticeable damage or impressions, so you're probably safe.

 

[gregmusi]

All of those guitars are dive only. The EVH and Peavey are archtops and thus require a small cavity for the floyd to rest on.

 

[thegregslife]

All of those guitars are dive only. The EVH and Peavey are archtops and thus require a small cavity for the floyd to rest on.

How did I not think of this?!?!

Do you think the Axis body gets extra stress from having that Floyd pushing against the body? I like to keep mine pretty tight so that bends don't easily raise it, but sometimes I get anxious thinking about the Floyd being pushed against the body 24/7. Occasionally I accidentally let go of the Floyd too early after a bomb and it hits the guitar a little harder than I'd like :/

 

[DrKev]

The best way to set the trem is to adjust the claw so the bridge does not move when bending (or maybe just a hair) but *no more* than that. Any additional spring tension is unnecessary and if you are worried about any indentations to the finish that's the sure way to get there!

 

[jayjayjay]

How did I not think of this?!?!

Do you think the Axis body gets extra stress from having that Floyd pushing against the body? I like to keep mine pretty tight so that bends don't easily raise it, but sometimes I get anxious thinking about the Floyd being pushed against the body 24/7. Occasionally I accidentally let go of the Floyd too early after a bomb and it hits the guitar a little harder than I'd like :/

If you're concerned, you could always stick some felt pads or a felt strip to the underside of the bridge, so that felt rather than metal contacts the body. I'd stick it to the bridge, so you don't have adhesive on the body finish. I imagine that would help reduce the clunk that can happen if you're not careful in letting down the trem arm.

You'll want to use thin felt. Too thick and the bridge will sit at an angle and/or you'll have to raise the bridge posts a little to compensate, which in turn raises the action.

 

[Razzle]

Yea I've not liked the bridges resting on the body (yes I know EVH wanted it that way) and they would definately detent the top after years of use. I totally float my axii and this is never an issue.

 

[dibart77]

Guys, I have 84 Axis' and 12 EBMM EVH's that I have used for 20-30 years. NONE of them have ANY damage to the top. ZERO DAMAGE. The only way it would get damaged is if you dive-bomb the bar all the way down and then full-on let the bar go (like you would do to flutter a floating trem) and it slams back down to the body. So don't do that. Easy. This really is a non-issue. I don't know how you float an Axis without the action being too high...

 

[skelt101]

I don't know how you float an Axis without the action being too high...

Perhaps with a neck shim...

 

[skelt101]

If you're concerned, you could always stick some felt pads or a felt strip to the underside of the bridge, so that felt rather than metal contacts the body. I'd stick it to the bridge, so you don't have adhesive on the body finish. I imagine that would help reduce the clunk that can happen if you're not careful in letting down the trem arm.

You'll want to use thin felt. Too thick and the bridge will sit at an angle and/or you'll have to raise the bridge posts a little to compensate, which in turn raises the action.

I used this on my 25th Anniversary guitar:
Flocking Tape

 

[Ventanaman]

I just replaced the trem on my highly-gigged 1999 Axis and there was no damage under the bridge, but I also do not care what the guitar looks like under the bridge as this is the first time I have seen it in almost 25 years.